Another Time, Another War
by The Last True Hero
Summary: He returns; the Galaxy's saviour in the face of an ancient threat. With enemies new and old, will Luke Skywalker rise to the mantle or let it fall and doom the galaxy? AU. Formerly Star Wars: Galaxy in Crisis.
1. In Media Res

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Star Wars, or any other referenced item used in this story. This is written purely for pleasure without the intent to profit._

_**A/N: **__It's basically an AU where Anakin doesn't kill Mace, and is allowed to raise his family with Padme. Twenty years later though, the Clone Wars have since ended, but have changed the galactic scene, with many new factions arising. There's also the fact that Luke disappeared at the age of ten. This is what happens when he returns. This story was formerly called Star Wars: Galaxy in Crisis; but I've made the decision to change the name, combine chapters one and two, and split it up into three acts._

**DRAMATIS PERSONAE**  
Luke Skywalker; Human male  
Anakin Skywalker; Human male  
Leia Amidala-Skywalker; Human female  
Padme Amidala-Skywalker; Human female  
Obi-Wan Kenobi; Human male  
Mara Jade; Human female  
Ahsoka Tano; Togruta female

* * *

**STAR WARS  
Another Time, Another War**

**ACT ONE  
_Awakening_**

_Chapter I – In Media Res_

_There is no emotion, there is peace  
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge  
There is no passion, there is serenity  
There is no chaos, there is harmony  
There is no death, there is the Force_

_~ The Jedi Code (As established by Odan-Urr)_

* * *

_A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…_

CORUSCANT

Underneath the star-speckled sky of Coruscant, with metal spires and domes stretching skyward and airspeeders zipping about overhead, Luke Skywalker did battle with a Dark Jedi. A battle of swordplay and Force ability and sheer will. Green and red shafts of light danced and struck each other with brutal precision and efficiently. Luke blocked a strike, ducked a follow-up swing and returned with one of his own.

He had tracked the Dark Jedi to Coruscant only the day before. A slave-trader by the name of Danton Tok; he mainly operated in Hutt Confederacy space, but was meeting a contact on Coruscant about a potential shipment of new slaves. Not that Luke was going to let that happen of course. He was the Darkslayer; a being of urban myth. He had started out as a simple wanderer, gallivanting around the galaxy in search of adventure but was now the scrounge of the underworld, hunting down slavers and murderers and pretty much everyone who was immoral and unjust.

That was where Tok came in. Luke had been hunting him ever since he had caught wind of Tok delivering a shipment of Twi'lek slaves to a world of the Trade Alliance, where they would be put to work in the factories. It had taken him best part of three weeks to drudge up the contacts and trails to find his whereabouts. He had been mildly surprised to find that Tok was on Coruscant. Infamous slaver, in the heart of the Republic? Luke supposed that the Republic didn't really care unless the slaves were in its territory. The Clone Wars had left it a shadow of its former self, with over two thirds of its systems breaking away to become neutral or join with others to create a smaller multi-system government.

"Y'know, Danton," Luke called out, amused, "You really need to consider changing where you meet your contacts."

"Darkslayer, you truly fail to meet the rumours. You are but a boy."

Luke blocked another slash, and settled into a defensive pattern, waving a cage of green about him. The simple, static rhythm would lull Tok into a false sense of security and eventually reveal a weakness to be exploited. Or so Luke hoped. "I reckon I'm doing alright."

"You will die, Darsklayer. You have no idea what lurks in the corners of the galaxy, waiting for a chance to step out of the shadows."

"And what would that be?

* * *

Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano raced across the Coruscant skyline in a government airspeeder, with her apprentice Mara Jade in the seat beside her. The Jedi Council had heard that both the slaver Danton Tok and the galactic vigilante referred to as the Darkslayer were present in the Republic capital.

"So, this Darkslayer guy," Mara started, "Why's the Council so keen to have him brought in?"

"The Council isn't." Ahsoka corrected, "The Chancellor is. Maybe he wants to put him on Republic missions or something."

Mara nodded and looked out the window thoughtfully. Republic intelligence had informed them that the Darkslayer was actually synonymous with a number of other urban legends: there was the Doctor, a sort of wandering wizard who did good deeds, and the Wise Man; who preached non-violence and could turn around entire armies with a few well-picked words. RI believed that it was the same person, or at least the same group.

Ahsoka carefully extended her senses, stretching out into the Force and tried to find the signature of the Darkslayer. Faintly, she could feel it, along with the darker presence of Danton Tok. She adjusted their flight path and sped up. They were to bring both in, although Ahsoka had gotten the feeling the warrant for Tok had come from the Council alone.

"Master –"

"I know, I feel it too." While Danton had the obvious signature of a Dark Jedi, the Darkslayer was a bit of an anomaly. They could both feel him in the Force, but it was almost as if he could control what he wanted others to sense. They couldn't tell if he was light or dark. That worried Ahsoka.

* * *

Blue lightning arced towards Luke, who barely managed to get his lightsaber up in time to block it.

"The Sith are coming, Darkslayer!"

"The Sith are gone." Luke retorted, "They died with Palpatine and Dooku."

"Their breed of Sith, yes." Danton acknowledged, "But Sith kind comes in many forms, of which their order was but one. And there are other evils in the galaxy besides."

Luke leapt forward, sweeping low, then reversed it and swung high. The two blades collided with a crackle and locked. Vaguely, Luke could sense the imminent arrival of other Force-wielders. Jedi.

"Such as?"

Danton parried the stab, and sent another fork of lightning his way. "The Old Ones are returning."

Luke slammed into him with a telekinetic wave and sent him stumbling. Luke charged forward and pressed the assault. Danton managed to block the first slash, but was blindsided by a swift kick to the side, and he followed through with a stab to the chest which ultimately connected.

If it had been any other lightsaber, Danton's heart would've been turned to cinder. Luke however, abhorred killing if unnecessary, and so had modified his lightsaber with a secondary setting; the stunsaber. Like a stun bolt, it merely incapacitated the victim. Danton Tok collapsed to the ground in a heap, lightsaber slipping from his hands and sizzling out.

Luke stared at his defeated foe, considering what he had said. An ancient foe and a new breed of Sith. That could not possibly be good. He would have to investigate further.

A ripple in the Force told him the Jedi had arrived. Two. Probably Master and Apprentice. He extended his Force sense out, careful to keep his nature hidden. Yes. Master-Apprentice pair, the Master was a Togruta, the apprentice a human. Both female. Luke realised that the togruta was Ahsoka Tano; his father's former apprentice. Definitely time to go, the Jedi could have Danton.

Luke slipped over to the edge of the rooftop they were on and looked below. He was hundreds of stories up, and yet was barely half-way into the city-planet's depths. He could see the red triangle of the Jedi airspeeder hurtling towards him. He had to go, now.

He looked back down, trying to see if there was anything suitable for him to jump onto. He could hide his Force-presence and slip away, with the Jedi unable to trace him. Nothing useful jumped out at him.

The Jedi speeder reached his roof. It swung around before settling down, and the canopy slid open with a hiss. Ahsoka Tano and her apprentice – a red-haired woman with emerald green eyes. Ahsoka was the first to notice the unconscious slaver on the ground, and seemed puzzled.

"Why is he not dead?" She asked simply.

Luke shrugged, glad the mask he wore hid his face. "Not a fan of killing. Too messy."

"Master?" The apprentice spoke up, "What do we do?"

The torguta eyed Luke up. "Mara and I have been instructed to bring you into Republic custody by the authority of the Jedi High Council and the Senate of the Republic. Will you come peacefully?"

Luke simply shook his head.

"Thought as much." Ashoka sighed. The apprentice – Mara – pulled out her lightsaber and ignited it with a _snap-hiss_ and charged forward, obviously hoping for quick and efficient capture. Luke, however, was unsurprised and simply pulled her forward with the Force; Mara overshot and nearly fell past Luke and off the roof before catching herself. Ahsoka hissed something under her breath about impatience and ignited her own lightsaber.

Luke examined the situation, before seeing the perfect getaway vehicle; a food truck. He looked at the two Jedi almost apologetically. "Sorry, but you know how it is. Places to be, planets to save."

And with that, Luke twisted around and with help from the Force, launched himself off of the roof, through the air into an arc, before landing almost weightlessly on the truck. Within a few seconds he had shut down his presence in the Force beyond what the Jedi would be able to follow, and was away before either could make any attempt to follow.

Mara couldn't help but feel annoyed at herself as Ashoka helped her to her feet. She had been impatient, acting before thinking and allowing the Darkslayer to escape. She should have let her Master continue talking, until a suitable opportunity presented itself.

"I'm sorry, Master." She said quietly.

Ashoka simply nodded. "You acted far too rashly, my young padawan. However, I feel this is not the last we have seen of him."

Mara nodded. "And we have the slaver."

"Indeed."

As her Master commed the Temple to update the council and request that someone come to detain Danton, Mara reflected on the Darkslayer. He was a powerful Force-user; that went without saying. His attire was some kind of hybrid of Jedi and bounty hunter; the dark and tight-fitting robes he had worn were interspersed with chest armour, greaves and gauntlets which to Mara looked like they had a lot of gadgets built in. Then there was the faceless mask, largely featureless save for the gold slit of a visor. He certainly looked the part of a vigilante at least.

Ashoka returned from her call. "I've informed the Council and Master Skywalker wishes us to return to the Temple for debriefing."

Mara simply nodded, still fuming at herself. "We all make mistakes, Mara."

"It was completely stupid of me."

"Perhaps." Ashoka conceded. "But you are a very gifted student. The best you can do is learn from your mistakes. After the debrief, take some time to meditate."

"Yes, Master." Mara said.

* * *

_It is my belief that the current annual budget for the Jedi Order is unnecessarily large and grossly misallocated when compared to agencies of similar size, and only allows them to spend more on unnecessary pursuits. Given the current economic climate, I suggest that their budget be reduced. I feel they should be reclassified as a military or judicial branch, and adjust their budget to fall in line with sister agencies._

_DECLARATION BY THEN-CHANCELLOR MERK QUIXAS AT ANNUAL BUDGET ALLOCATION MEETING_

* * *

JEDI TEMPLE, CORUSCANT

Mara Jade and Ahsoka Tano stood before the Jedi Council, giving their rather brief report of events that had taken place during their assignment to bring the Darkslayer and Danton Tok into Jedi custody. The Council Chamber was a circular room with a marble floor, set in one of the Jedi Temple's towers; wide transparisteel windows overlooked the Coruscant cityscape. Twelve memory-foam chairs were arranged around the room in a circle, and each one bore a Jedi Master.

The Council consisted of twelve high-ranking Jedi Masters, chosen for their wisdom and ability in the ways of the Force. At the centre of the circle was Grand Master Yoda; And the Council's three other permanent places were held by Anakin Skywalker, Mace Windu, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. The eight remaining Masters held Council places for a period of three years before standing down unless given a permanent seat. There was Kaja Metra, a Twi'lek who had served with distinction in the Clone Wars and an expert swordsman. There was Alisis Kre-Te, a human woman from Belis V; Rotarrack, a Wookiee whose mastery and wisdom of the Force belied his fear-inducing stature. A powerful Watchman called Omal Cante and the historian Terys Te. The Mon Calamari Jedi called Mal Portalum was present only as a hologram and Healer Yu-Cas wasn't present at all, being busy dealing with a viral outbreak on Chandrilia.

"Do either of you have anything further to add to your report?" Master Windu asked.

"No Masters." Ahsoka answered. "Unless Apprentice Jade has something to add?"

Mara shook her head negative. There really hadn't been all that much to discuss in the first place. The Darkslayer had incapacitated the slaver then escaped. They hadn't bothered to bring up her mistake since they both secretly felt that he would have escaped anyway.

"A mystery then, this Darkslayer remains." Yoda said, in his unique manner.

"We need to discover where he trained." Mal Portalum suggested. "He is powerful, and there is no way he was self-taught or not of any official Force order."

"I agree." Terys added, "If we can find out where he received his training, then we might be able to figure out who he is."

"Is it possible he is dismissed from our Order due to the reforms?" Kaja considered, "We've put a lot of freelance Force wielders out into the galaxy."

Omal Cante shook his head. "Unlikely. We managed to resettle a lot of them and all those that fit the bill are accounted for."

Rottarack rumbled in Shyriwook. _"Does it matter? We have seen no indication that he is a Dark-sider. Unless that changes, I see no issue in turning a blind eye to his efforts."_

Kenobi chose that moment to interject: "The problem is not his actions, it's the fact we know so little about him; how someone could obtain such skill without us hearing about it."

"I agree with Rottarack." Skywalker said. "He's obviously a good person; he obviously has a moral code that works with ours. He mainly operates in areas we can't which is another bonus."

"The issue," Kenobi repeated, "Isn't what he's doing. It's the fact that we don't know how he does it."

"So we investigate, but don't interfere." Skywalker summed up simply, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"The problem is that the Chancellor wants him brought in." Mace pointed out, "We can't just turn a blind eye."

"_Maybe we should_." Rottarack said, "_The Republic simply does not give us enough support._"

"We're still bound to serve it though." Terys retorted, "We cannot simply ignore that."

"Maybe we should. We're the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy." Skywalker began, "Except we only act in the Republic, and the worst of the galaxies' troubles are out in the rim, beyond said Republic."

A few of the Masters nodded in agreement, but Kenobi and Mal were not among them. "The Republic is the best medium we have to aid the galaxy." Portalum snapped.

Yoda finally decided to reign in the tangent the meeting had been going on. "A discussion for another time, this is. Decide what to do about the Darkslayer, we must."

Kaja was the first to offer a suggestion. "How about we assign Master Tano and Apprentice Jade to investigate him until we are able to determine the best course of action. Gets the Chancellor off our backs and we get more information that'll help us decide whether or not to actually bring him in or not."

Yoda nodded in agreement. "Merit, your suggestion has. Vote, the Council will."

The Council agreed. Master Windu turned to Ahsoka and Mara. "Do you accept this assignment?"

The two exchanged a look of silent discussion, before Ahsoka nodded. "We accept."

"Very well. You are dismissed."

"May the Force be with you, Masters." Ahsoka bade them.

"And with you."

Outside the Council Chamber, Mara turned to her Master. "Where do we begin?"

Ahsoka shrugged, not entirely sure. "How do you find a vigilante practically ripped from the holovids?"

"Watch a lot of them?" Mara joked. "We could try and find something in the Archives."

Her Master nodded in agreement. "You search the Archives. I'll try to find something from some old contacts."

* * *

Later in the evening, Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker sat in his apartment, awaiting the return of his wife. He reflected on the events of today; the Council meeting, the debate of what to be done about the Darkslayer, and the heated debates about the Jedi's relationship with the Republic that had had occurred after his former apprentice had left.

Anakin was finding it increasingly hard to find reasons why the Order should stay with the Republic. They were keepers of the peace, defenders of the innocent. They were servants of the galaxy and the Force, and the restrictions the Republic kept heaping on them were beginning to run directly contradictory to that mantle. They refused to let them operate in Commonwealth or League territory; they piled on layers of bureaucracy and administration; and perhaps worst of all, they had completely slashed the Order's funds. Prior to the war, the Order had maintained everything to a peak efficiency; all the asked for in exchange for the work was the funds necessary to keep and maintain equipment at its full efficiency. Now; the shuttles were falling apart, the Temple was run-down; they had to constantly recycle old clothes since they couldn't afford to buy new robes. Perhaps worst of all, they couldn't even afford to keep all their Jedi. For the first time in the Order's history, they had been forced to dismiss Jedi. Over two thousand had been made to leave the Jedi Order to find work.

Although the Chancellor who had forced this situation on them was no longer in power, the one that had succeeded him hadn't done much to help. For all of Padme's arguments on the matter, Chancellor Bail Organa simply wasn't helping them; and seemed to be working on his own galactic ideals and wasn't in touch with the reality of the galaxy that had been born after the war. Anakin felt that Organa believed that eventually the galaxy would return to the Republic. It had been a point of confrontation with Padme, who had long since retired as Senator and had become advisor to the Chancellor's office.

Anakin sighed, looking out of the window across the Coruscant skyline. He could forget the Order's troubles until tomorrow. Leia would be coming over for dinner; he hadn't seen her since she went to visit the Hapes Consortium. Anakin hadn't been particularly happy to discover that their Prince Isolder was courting her affections. But still, it would be nice to see her. C-3PO was in the kitchen cooking nerf-steak and mash.

_Luke should be here._

It had been ten years since Luke had disappeared. It didn't make losing him any easier. The war had just ended; for their safety, they had sent Luke and Leia into hiding. Leia had gone to stay with some of Padme's friends on Alderaan, while Luke had been sent to Tatooine to be watched over by Owen and Beru Lars, Anakin's stepbrother and his wife. He had taken well to the farm lifestyle, and his Jedi studies had progressed well despite the relative isolation from his Jedi trainers.

Three years after he had gone to live on Tatooine, there had been an attack. The Order had never managed to find out who had done it. They had come in the cold Tatooine night; and absconded with him, leaving the two injured Lars behind. And they had never found Luke again. They couldn't even find him in the Force.

Anakin let out a breath, and opened his mind to the Force, letting its cool currents wash away his stress and sadness. "Threepio, how's the food coming along? The girls are arriving soon."

* * *

Luke Skywalker looked around the nightclub with mild amusement. Of all the places on Coruscant, Han Solo had to meet him in a nightclub. The inside of the _Liquor's Lust_ was bathed in orange light; neon holo-banners of blue and green and purple danced around the bar, and in the corner were a trio of dancing humanoid women.

He didn't need to search particularly hard for Han. Instead of looking for the "legitimate" smuggler, he simply looked over the heads of the other patrons for Han's partner and friend, Chewbacca; a Wookie that owed him a life-debt, which was a spiritual oath to protect someone that had done the Wookiee a great service. Sure enough, at one of the circular cubicles the mass of shaggy fur towered over the others in the bar.

Luke made his way over. "Han, why the nightclub?"

The roguish Corellian grinned and took a swig of amber as Luke sat down. "Why the mask?"

"Keeps my face hidden." Luke shrugged. Chewbacca yelped something in Shryiwook. "_Are you trying to procure a mate?"_

Han burst out laughing while Luke simply cocked an eyebrow behind his mask. "No, Chewie, I'm not."

"Hey, you're getting attention anyway." Han noted, "You've got the whole mysterious stranger thing going on."

"That's nice." Luke said absent-mindedly, "Han, what do you know about the Sith?"

"The Sith? You mean the evil Jedi guys that started the Clone Wars and got wiped out? Pretty much just that."

Luke nodded, he hadn't been particularly hopeful. "Just heard a whisper, is all. There could be another group of Sith out there."

Han cocked an eyebrow. "You really don't get a break do you? Ancient Dark side spirits, that Abeloth monster from the Maw, then there was that Yuuzhan Vong invasion we ended up preventing. Oh, and let's not forget all those crime lords and slave rackets you hunt down."

"I didn't do it alone." Luke protested, "There was always help. Sometimes I didn't really do anything."

"_Except get seriously injured every time in direct combat until you learned patience and cunning."_ Chewie chimed in. _"You may be powerful, but you always seem to come off worse in fights until you get lucky."_

"That's my luck rubbing off on him." Han smirked.

"Or the will of the Force." Luke chuckled.

The smuggler rolled his eyes. "Here we go."

Luke was about to argue back when his wrist gauntlet beeped. "Y'know," Han commented dryly, "You've got more toys than Boba Fett. We've had enough run-ins to compare with."

He ignored the jibe and examined his wrist; the holographic panel lit up and displayed a HoloNet report from the Coruscant Security Force. A revolutionary group locally known as the New Age Hand had kidnapped a bus of civilians and held them in an abandoned construction site nearby. They were refusing to release the hostages until they were granted audience with the Chancellor himself to discuss reforms to the system. _Like that was ever going to happen._ _They must be kriffing idiots, thinking that'll work._

"Duty calls?" Han asked in amusement.

"Duty calls." Luke acknowledged. Han considered before downing the rest of his drink, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Whaddya think, Chewie? Want to play heroes again?"

Chewie roared an affirmative. Han snorted, before speaking again; "Guess it's the old team back together again then." He paused. "We better not end up on Felucia again. I am not running away from another pack of water gnashers."

Luke laughed, before standing up. "Don't forget about Hoth."

Chewie shuddered. _"I thought we agreed never to bring that up?"_

"As long as we don't need to fight another Gorog, I think we'll be fine."

* * *

_Excerpt from__** Major Post-War Galactic Governments **__, by Jetsun Tarilla._

_Galactic Republic__: Formerly the dominant galactic government, events and concessions after the war had caused the Republic to split and fragment, effectively losing two thirds of its overall territory, predominantly in the mid-rim regions. Due to the war and later concessions to member-states, the Republic is facing a deep economic downturn and struggling to regain any real post-war stability._

_Galactic Commonwealth: __Successor state to the Seperatist movement, the Commonwealth was established simultaneously with the signing of the Treaty of Kamino and consists of the majority of the two-thousand odd systems that were part of the original Seperatists. Post-war it has fared significantly better than the Republic due to the higher number of industrial and service worlds within its territory._

_Trade Alliance__: An alliance-government of many small systems and trade unions, it has generated much friction with both the Republic and Commonwealth due to its overall lack of sentient rights; meaning both a low quality of life in much of the territories and the effective presence of slavery._

_League of Independent Systems: __Created from systems that split from the Republic after the war and based on Corellia. A true military super-power, it maintains a large military and industrial sector; and produces much of the Galaxies' war ships and technology._

_Hutt Clans:__ The Hutts continue to have a strong grip of many of the impoverished outer-rim worlds, with little true law or order. Hutt space is a large area for criminals and smugglers._

* * *

**_A/N:_**_Like it so far? Hate it so far? You know the drill, you read/review, I write more. Ideas and constructive criticism are welcome. And If I've gotten anything wrong, tell me about that too._


	2. Collision

_**Disclaimer: **__You will give me the rights to Star Wars…whaddya mean it only works on the weak minded?_

_**A/N: **__In the last chapter you'll notice I mentioned a lot of EU media like Abeloth and the Yuuzhan Vong; I basically wanted to deal with the later elements of canon now so that it frees up any potential issues with later timelines (I haven't thought just how long this story will span). For those of you curious about how Luke dealt with these threats, I've decided to write several Interlude chapters that will detail those events. For what happened to Luke, that's coming up in a chapter or two._

* * *

**STAR WARS  
Another Time, Another War**

_Chapter Two – Collision_

_Peace is a lie, there is only passion  
__Through passion, I gain strength  
__Through strength, I gain power  
__Through power, I gain victory  
__Through victory, my chains are broken  
__The Force shall set me free_

_~ The Sith Code_

* * *

_A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…_

JEDI TEMPLE, CORUSCANT

Mara didn't go to the Archives. Instead, she went to the Room of a Thousand Fountains; the Force was strong there, but calm. It would hide what she was about to do. She entered the room – garden might be more appropriate. Plants from across the galaxy twisted around the room; trees to flowers and beyond in shades of green and blue and red and yellow. Of course, there were many elegant, stylish fountains as well. She doubted there were actually a thousand of them though. The room wasn't quite that large. There were few Jedi about, but Mara hadn't accomplished what she had by being reckless.

It never ceased to amaze her just how arrogant the Jedi Order was. They believed that they were untouchable, that no enemy could breach the Temple's walls. That old, decrepit, degenerate, stagnant order of worthless monks hid away, content to meditate and watch events of the galaxy unfold around them. She had infiltrated their order, their temple. An enemy within. An enemy who served a master they long thought gone, who wanted to bring lasting peace and unity to the galaxy; mould it into something strong and beautiful, under the watch of his infinite brilliance and compassion.

She secreted herself away in a corner, underneath a pink-leafed jodarri tree. She leaned back, relaxed into the Force, and felt for the bond she knew would be there. She could hear his call anywhere in the galaxy; hear his praise and his orders.

She called out into the bond for her true master, and Lord Palpatine answered.

_Hello, my child._ His voice sang out in her mind. _How goes your mission?_

_It goes well, my master. The Jedi and the Darkslayer have taken Danton's bait and are soon to be hunting for non-existent Sith. The strain the Republic is placing on the Order is dividing it also._

A pause, as he considered the information._ You have done well, child._

His praise filled Mara with warmth, as it always did. She existed to serve him. Mara was a tool, a weapon forged by his training and his will, and hardened by the Jedi's murder of her family. She would help her master destroy the Jedi, and build his vision of a greater galaxy.

_What is thy biding, my master?_

_I have foreseen events, with the Darkslayer at their heart. He is powerful, and I have foreseen that he shall join with the Jedi. I want you to bring him to me. He shall serve our great cause._

Mara had never failed a mission given to her. Lord Palpatine always made sure she had the resources and the ability to succeed. But even she had doubts she could accomplish the task.

_Capture him, my Lord?_

_No._ He answered. _He shall not fall through torture or force. A subtler approach is needed. He will gravitate towards you. Use this._

Seduce him, then. Even at her young age, she had used her body as another tool, another weapon. She knew what she could do. Youth and childhood for her had died at with her family, before Palpatine had given her a new purpose, a new life. Her first kill had been at eleven. A trainer had been having thoughts of dissension and defection, and she knew her duty. She had entered his quarters in the dead of night and slit his throat with his own vibroblade.

_I understand, master._

_Good. You have done well, my Hand._

And then he retreated from her mind, leaving her alone in the world again. She had been tasked to infiltrate the Order just under four years ago; she had posed as an unaware Force-wielder who had been caught up in a pirate raid. The Jedi had found her, and despite their misgivings about someone so old, had decided to train her. She had been ever alert, wary of the Jedi realising her deception, but Darth Sidious had taught her well. At times, she felt bad about deceiving the Jedi who had been kind enough to take her in and give her a home, and especially Ahsoka Tano who had elected to train her – she, admittedly, had learned much about the Force such was her duty, to her master and the new galaxy they hoped to create.

She just wished she didn't feel so alone.

She shrunk back as a pair of Jedi wandered past, oblivious or uncaring of her presence and what she had just done. They didn't notice her and moved on. Sighing, Mara contemplated recent events and closed her eyes.

She wondered why she had randomly charged at the Darkslayer. Something had possessed her; a rage, an obsession that hadn't been hers erupted inside her and robbed her of reason. Idly, she wondered if her connection to Palpatine had been the cause. Had something bled through the Force? She wasn't sure. That would mean he knew more about the Darkslayer than he let on.

Mara didn't know. It wasn't her place to question.

Only serve.

* * *

_After eight long years of fighting, the long-awaited Treaty of Kamino has been signed, signifying the end of the gruelling Clone Wars. The treaty recognises the CIS as a sovereign government and granted them claim to several former Republic worlds along with the right for any Republic system to leave the Republic and join the CIS or become a sovereign system._

_**HoloNet News Report, broadcast the day after the Treaty of Kamino signing.**_

* * *

INDUSTRIAL SECTOR 7B, CORUSCANT

Luke Skywalker looked down at the unconscious terrorist before him, unlit lightsaber held loosely in his right hand, and a pilfered datapad in the other. The terrorist had been some sort of sentry; watching the complex the hostages were being held from afar. Luke, Han and Chewie had ambushed him and knocked him out.

The datapad contained information on what the New Age Hand wanted. In addition to the hostages, they had another target. One far more valuable than all the innocent civilians in the bones of a building they could see below, surrounded by CSF officers.

They were after Leia.

They had tracked her arrival from Hapes; discovered the space port she would arrive in and had despatched a group to kidnap her. Luke turned to Han and Chewbacca expectantly. "You two go deal with them. I'll handle these guys."

"You sure kid?" Han asked. "You might need help."

Chewbacca wuffed in agreement. Luke simply shook his head. "If they kidnap Leia, they've got a big bargaining chip for both a high-ranking Jedi master and an advisor to the Chancellor. I'll be fine."

Han shrugged again. "If you say so kid. C'mon Chewie."

As they left in the speeder, Luke reflected on how far Han had come since they had met. Before, Han had been every bit the smuggler and immoral scoundrel, looking for the next big haul, content to secret himself away in seedy bars and clubs, scamming players at sabacc. Since meeting Luke, he had found some sort of casual courage within himself. An on-off companion and full time friend, both of them. They were two of the few people Luke would trust to have at his back when he rushed off on some damned fool idealistic crusade.

He dragged himself back to the present. Using the macrobinoculars in his mask, he surveyed the complex. In normal-vision, he could see some of the terrorists in the gaps in the partially-constructed building. He could also see the many CSF officers surrounding the building, setting up a perimeter. He realised with interest that Ahsoka Tano was there too. Maybe she had picked up a CSF transmission and offered to help. Or maybe she was hunting him. Luke didn't know.

He began playing around with some of his mask's extra features. He flicked on the "smart-vision"; the world shifted into tones of yellow orange and gold and he could then see inside the building, and everyone inside. He could've used the Force to achieve similar results, but there was a lot of other life signatures and energy around him, and he didn't have the time to 'tune' in and filter out the distractions. And besides: the mask could even go as far as identify their weapons and limited biometrics.

Luke frowned. The Force was telling him something was wrong. He knew he could trust the Force to stop him harming the wrong people, but he would much rather prefer to discover the trick beforehand. His eyes narrowed as he realised their idiot in the array.

The terrorists standing up and moving around weren't the terrorists at all. They were the hostages; their "weapons" were really just bits of wood and plasteel. The real terrorists were huddled in groups, pretending to be hostages. The CSF would breach in, and take the hostages for terrorists and kill them. It was a trap. Unacceptable.

Luke activated his comlink and sliced into the CSF channel. "Who's in command?"

* * *

Ahsoka Tano watched with interest as CSF Captain Keta – a Bothan - turned to the comm unit. Picking up the receiver he replied: "Who the hell is this?"

"I'm the Darkslayer."

"Well, _Darkslayer_, this is a CSF operation. Get off the channel before I have to send people to arrest you for interfering." And with that, slammed down the receiver.

"Alright men; We're gonna breach and clear. Weapons free, as far as engaging hostiles go it's shoot anything that presents a clear and present danger."

The comm unit began beeping again. Sighing, the Captain picked up the receiver again.

"Y'know, that's just plain rude. Where was I? Oh, right. It's a trap. Don't-" The Captain rammed the receiver down again. Ahsoka raised an eyebrow.

"Shouldn't you listen to him?" The Jedi asked curiously. She had received a general call for aid from the Captain and responded to his relief. She had discovered a massively underfunded and undermanned CSF force trying to contain a hostage situation. Ahsoka felt there was more to this than what met the eye, but kept silent until she could find out what.

Kata turned towards her. "I know how to run my unit, thank you very much. And besides, we've got word from higher-up; we've to go in and take them out."

"Seems a bit rash." Ahsoka noted. "Why not try negotiating? The hostages could get caught in the crossfire otherwise."

The Captain sighed, and rubbed his brow. "I know." He said wearily. "But we don't have the resources for prolonged negotiation, and the boss just wants this dealt with, crossfire or no. It's not worth my job to say no."

Ahsoka nodded sympathetically. The man was only trying to do the best with what was availiable to him.

* * *

Luke cursed in half a dozen languages as the CSF commander hung up on him again. Why in the nine Corellian hells wouldn't he listen? All the CSF would achieve by blasting in would be that they'd mistake the hostages for terrorists and kill them, then get surprised by the real terrorists; a bloodbath. Luke couldn't let that happen.

He surveyed his options. There were ten floors in total. The CSF were entering on the bottom and working up to the hostages and terrorists who were spread out on the top three floors. If Luke was quick enough, he could neutralise the terrorists before the CSF arrived on the seventh floor and give them time to realise the trap. Since Luke was elevated above the building, he could use the Force to steer his descent and effectively glide right into their midst.

The CSF breached and within a minute had secured the first floor and moved to the second. He didn't have a lot of time.

Luke checked his gear, made sure his lightsaber was set to stun, and gathered the Force around him. He took a few steps back, then a deep breath. He ran towards the edge, and with help from the Force, leapt off. He soared across the chasm between the building and his vantage point, dipping only slightly. He angled his approach; there was an opening in the wall manned by a single victim. He slipped through the hole and tackled the hostage to the ground.

"Stay down." Luke ordered, igniting his lightsaber with a _snap_-_hiss_. The hostage nodded, and Luke turned his attention to the others on the floor. The terrorists leapt to their feet, realising that their deception was lost and raised their weapons. Luke raised his weapon. Three of the six terrorists had fallen to his blade as the CSF burst onto the seventh floor. He raised his hand; blue flames leapt from his hand and the jet of Force fire caused the CSF team to dive backwards.

Luke's Jedi –for lack of a better term- instincts took over. He deflected away every blaster bolt; including those aimed at the terrorists. No one was dying here. He ducked, flipped over a terrified hostage and took down a fourth terrorist with a slash through the torso. He jumped again, batting away a blood-red bolt and incapacitated three CSF officers with a sweep of his blade. Too much chance of a hostage getting caught in the crossfire. Within three minutes, the 12 CSF first team officers and six terrorists were down.

In the centre of the floor was a gap, designed to eventually become an elevator shaft. Luke raised his gauntlet up into the gap and fired a grapple line; the line pulled him up, and as he reached the apex he used the Force to accelerate his motion, and he flipped up and over the safety banister and instantly found himself batting away blaster bolts again.

* * *

Ahsoka listened on with interest as the CSF officers cried out that the Darkslayer was attacking them. Her confusion was short-lived though, as the second CSF team discovered that the terrorists had been pretending to be the hostages. The Darkslayer obviously incapacitated the CSF to prevent any of the victims being killed by mistake. She continued to watch with interest as the Force-wielder moved up to the eighth floor and began battling his way through the second set of New Age Hand gunmen. According to surveillance, there was only two people on the top floor; one terrorist (presumably the man in change) and a hostage.

Ahsoka wondered how the Darkslayer would deal with them.

* * *

APPLECRASS SPACEPORT, CORUSCANT

Han and Chewbaca arrived to find the spaceport in chaos. Obviously, the attempted kidnap of Leia Amidala hadn't gone smoothly for the New Age Hand. Several speeders were overturned and aflame; civilians were running around screaming. Leia herself was crouched behind an old SoroSuub 9M-Series, deflecting incoming fire with a violet lightsaber her bodyguard dead or unconscious beside her. Han looked around for the source of the blasterfire. Three enemies, taking cover behind a large repulsor truck; another two were in an airspeeder with a modified turret mounted on the back; and one was hovering above the battlefield with the aid of a jetpack.

"Chewie, hit the guy on the turret. I've got jetpack." Han barked. Chewie wuffed in acknowledgement and raised his bowcaster. One, two, three shots from the Wookiee's weapon and the turret's operator was down. Han took aim with his own blaster; the shot hit the jetpack, causing it to destabilise and send the wearer flying into the ground. Hard.

Leia turned in surprise from the unexpected aid. Han and Chewie took advantage of the momentary lull in the fighting to sprint across the permacrete parking bay and slide into cover with Leia.

"Who the hell are you?" She hissed, stress evident.

"Han Solo and Chewbacca. We're here to rescue you." Han answered. The three ducked as an explosion jolted their cover and covered them with debris.

Leia glanced over the wrecked speeder. "Good job. How'd you even know we were here?"

Han scowled as Chewie began to return fire. "Listen, _Princess_, this ain't my idea of a fun time either."

Leia rolled her eyes, and ignored the jibe. "The Jedi will be here soon; we just have to hold out a little longer."

"Nice to- DOWN!" Han cried, as a lucky blaster bolt slipped through. He flung himself at Leia, kocking the pair of them to the ground; the bolt had been heading straight for Leia without enough time to deflect it. Han hissed in pain as it lanced across his back; not a direct hit, but it had been angled enough to bite into the skin and burn.

"Son of a Sith." He groaned, clutching at his back. Chewbacca glanced at his injured friend before roaring. He stood up, towering over their cover and began to hurl shots at the remaining attacking. The one in the turret speeder went was killed and the three remaining kidnappers retreated behind their truck.

/

Leia took the advantage. She gathered the Force around her before launching herself up into the air; she twisted and flipped over the truck and landed next to the kidnappers. One swipe of her blade took out their weapons and with a flick of her wrist slammed all three into the side of the truck with the Force, and into unconsciousness.

Leia sighed as the sense of danger diminished. Vaguely, she could sense her father and a few other Jedi inbound. Better late than never, she supposed. Then she remembered her injured "saviour" and hurriedly ran back to where he lay. Chewbacca was crouched by his friend and looked to her questioningly as she kneeled down beside Han. He wuffed something in his own language; although Leia didn't understand the words themselves, the meaning was clear enough. _Is he going to be okay?_

Leia turned Han over onto his front so she could get a better look. "Ooh, a massage. Nice"

"Shut up." Leia ordered. "I need to see how bad it is."

"Shame we're at a spaceport instead of a medcenter." Han mumbled into the permacrete.

Leia ignored him and began to examine the wound, both with her eyes and the Force. It wasn't particularly deep running, but the skin had been singed rather badly and the fabric of his jacket and tunic had been burnt into his skin at the edges. Part of her considered simply getting him to a medcenter, but decided to simply heal him herself.

"Now, this might hurt a bit." Leia informed him. "I'll try to use the Force to ease it though."

Carefully, she slowly began to peel back the fabric. Han gave a sharp intake of breath and Leia reached to him with the Force, dulling the pain as best she could. Once all the fabric had been pulled away, she gathered the Force around herself again and began to channel it into the wound. Slowly, the burn began to recede; new flesh knitted over the old and soon the skin was largely unblemished, save for a raw pink tint. Force healing was one of those abilities you had to consider before applying; some injuries simply needed the slow path. Broken bones, for example, were better healed with time or, if necessary, bacta.

"Good as new." Leia said confidently.

Han sat up and began to stretch, testing out the new flesh. "Seems that way. Thanks."

Leia nodded. "So, who are you two then, and how did you know to find me?"

* * *

INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX 7B, CORUSCANT

Luke had made his way through the gauntlet of enemies and arrived at the final room; where a hastily erected barricade of durasteel sheets impeded his progress. His Force senses told him there were only two inside; the hostage's fear and the terrorist's grim resolution permeated the Force.

He raised his saber and plunged it into the barricade. Then, slowly, he dragged it up, then across, back down and across again to carve out a rectangle. A nudge from the Force and the section he had cut out fell forward with a resounding crash. Lazily, he stepped through his impromptu entrance and surveyed the scene. The terrorist was clad in rusted, brownish-green armour and had his arm clamped around his hostages neck to make her a meat shield. The hostage was a terrified Bith girl, yellow and bulbous head bobbing with terrified sobs. Luke raised his hands placatingly. "Now, lets just talk about this."

"Your lightsaber. Drop it."

Luke shrugged, before doing so and kicked it across the ground so it lay in-between them. "Happy now?"

"You're going to do as I say." The terrorist ordered.

"Not likely." Luke replied mildly.

He raised the blaster to the girl's head. "You will. Or else."

"Is this really the best way to do it?" Luke pressed. "If you had asked nicely, played the political game you could've got what you wanted. But all you're gonna achieve now is prison."

"That's what you think." The terrorist sneered.

"That's what I know." Luke returned evenly. He folded his arms and frowned. "Actually, this whole thing seems a bit fishy. Terrorist groups like yours don't just come out of the woodwork like this. Someone must've put you up to it."

"We've been promised our goals in exchange for services." He conceded.

Luke cocked an eyebrow. Had the terrorist really just admitted that? People really weren't good at keeping secrets these days. "Who promised you?"

"Now that would be telling." He smirked. Luke briefly considering trying a mind trick, but decided it was too dangerous. The Bith might get hurt.

"Give up now." Luke ordered simply.

The terrorist laughed; within an instant, something inside him had snapped and the hopelessness of his situation robbed him of reason. Insanity had taken over. He slowly backed towards the edge, dragging the Bith girl with him. "Go get her then."

And pushed her out the window.

Luke didn't even think; he leapt forward and summoned his lightsaber with the Force; ignited it and slashed the terrorist as he passed and dived out the window after the girl. Time seemed to slow. Luke used the Force to accelerate his dive; closer and closer. He reached her. Grabbed her. He just managed to turn her away and shield her with his body as they smashed into a parked speeder with enough force to cave the hood in.

His vision swam; his mask's visor had cracked and the heads up display flickered on and off. Every inch of him hurt; there was likely more than a few broken bones and definitely bruising. Luke managed to address the girl. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yes. I think so." The girl stuttered, petrified.

"Well," Luke groaned, "That could've went worse." He examined the remains of the speeder around him. "This is a write-off, though."

He addressed the girl again. "What's your name?"

"Sula." She answered. "What's yours?"

Luke didn't answer. Instead, he reached out with the Force and pulled away the caved speeder's hood to allow them to sit up. His ribs settled into a dull ache as the CSF and Ahsoka arrived.

Sula was taken away to a nearby medic to be checked over, and Luke was left alone with Ahsoka. He couldn't be bothered to move, and doubted he had the strength left to effect an escape even if he wanted to. Ahsoka watched him quietly. "Who are you, Darkslayer?"

Luke considered. _Ahh, kriff it._ He couldn't be bothered running away from it all anymore. With an effort, he managed to reach up and pull back his hood; his mask soon followed with a click as its locking mechanisms disengaged. He looked towards Ahsoka and pulled in a breath of unfiltered air. He coughed slightly.

"Luke?" Ahsoka said in disbelief, as recognition dawned. "Is that you?"

"Hey, Snips." Luke chuckled, invoking the nickname Anakin had given her. "How's it been?"

"But you…" Ahoska started. "You disappeared ten years ago."

"I know." Luke said mirthlessly. "I was there."

Ahsoka looked at him uncertainly, before reaching out and enfolding him in a strong hug. Pulling back slightly, she asked: "What happened to you?"

Luke sighed. "Now that, Ahsoka, is a long, long story…"

* * *

_**A/N:**_ _Boom. Done. Love it? Hate it? Leave a review and tell me what you thought. Ideas, criticisms and all else are welcome. Peace out._


	3. Luke's Story

_**Disclaimer: **__Don't own it. But one day…_

_**A/N: **__Story time! To a question in the reviews, I decided to combine the first two chapters for better length and then uploaded a new chapter 2. My plans for interlude chapters probably wont come about; they'll be standalone pieces._

* * *

**STAR WARS  
Another Time, Another War**

_Chapter Three – Luke's Story_

_Aliit ori'shya tal'din  
"Family is more than bloodline."_

_~ Mandalorian proverb  
_

_A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…_

JEDI TEMPLE, CORUSCANT

A second heart, a second liver, altered sensory orgrans, altered biochemistry, and skeletal density far beyond human standard. Luke Skywalker hadn't just been augmented. He had been practically rebuilt. While Healer Nexia Dene had been well taught by Master Yu-Cas, but all her training and experience couldn't prepare her to offer a diagnosis on what the Sith had happened to the boy. The only answer would be Luke's own testimony. After Luke had been taken in, Ahsoka had him immediately reported to the medical wing for a check-up. The first thing Nexia had noticed was the abundance of bones that had been broken and badly healed and scar tissue, but the modified physiology was rather difficult to miss.

The boy in question lay on one of the beds, hooked up to a plethora of medical equipment measuring pulse, heart rate, blood levels and neurological activity. He was obviously uncomfortable, not least because the family that had long thought him dead crowded around the bedsite, along with Yoda, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka. Perhaps it was the mixture of Jedi and political training that prevented the reunion from degenerating into an over-emotional tear-fest like a bad holodrama. So far, aside from a few teary hugs and joyful welcomes, the Skywalker family had been largely content and accepting of the situation, and were now more curious as to what had happening in the ten years since Luke's disappearance.

Nexia's Nautolian features creased into a furrowed brow as she again examined his physiology. "I don't understand what happened to your internal biology. It's like you were rebuilt. No traces of artificial midi-chlorian manipulation though. Your count has still increased since you were last scanned though."

"They modify you." Luke muttered under his breath. "So you don't die too quickly. As for the midi-chlorians; just training and practice in the Force."

"I didn't know that could happen." Luke's mother, Padme said surprised.

"The Force is like a muscle." Obi-Wan answered. "Once you reach your initial ceiling, so to speak, if you continue to train and practice eventually your connection will grow stronger."

Padme nodded. Leia –Luke's sister- spoke up next. "Who are 'they'? The ones that kidnapped you?"

Luke nodded. "The Tsarik."

"The tsarik?"

He paused, considering how best to give voice to the concept. "They're a race originating in the Unknown Regions." Luke began, "Every planet and culture's beliefs about boogeymen in the night coming to steal away children in the night originate from them."

"Why?" Anakin

"Because they _are_ the boogeymen that come in the night to steal away children." Luke answered quietly.

* * *

LARS MOISTURE FARM, TATOOINE; (TEN YEARS EARLIER)

The twin suns of Tatoo I and II hung overhead in the midday sky, and the orbs of intense orange bored down on ten-year-old me, the heat bit hard into the back of my neck and tinged it pink it with the beginnings of sunburn. I didn't pay it any mind, for the last three years with Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru on the desert planet had long since toughened me against things as trivial as sunburn. The farmboy lifestyle had worn off on me very much.

I had been sent to Tatooine for my own safety three years previously. Assassination attempts on the Skywalker family had prompted the decision until the culprits had been found. When I wasn't helping on the moisture farm I would either be communicating with my family via a high-end and very expensive HoloNet transmitter, or limited training in the Force; meditation, reflex honing, and expanding my Force senses. It was less intensive training than what would be expected at the Temple, but Anakin had insisted that his children wouldn't be forced into the Jedi life if they didn't want to be.

Currently, Uncle Owen had asked me to go out with a droid to run diagnostics on the moisture vaporators on the outskirts of the farm. The overbearing droid, T-9B7, would look over me as I did the mechanical work since Owen and Beru were too busy to come themselves. I worked away, perfectly content to daydream about exciting starpilots and swashbuckling heroes whose ranks I one day hoped to join. As most ten-years-olds would.

There was the faintest ripple in the Force that my fledgling senses could barely pick up, yet alone recognise it for what it was: a warning. There was a single gunshot and the scream of a damaged T-9B7. I spun around to find the unlucky droid face-first in the sand with a charred hole in its back. I followed the shot to its source; and there was a monster.

It was humanoid, vaguely reptilian. Hairless, pure white scales made up the thing's skin, rippling over a mass of thick muscle and dense bone. Amber eyes with narrow pupils looked upon me with a look of curiosity and malice.

Owen and Beru Lars would find the remains of the broken droid a few hours later, with no signs of where the ten year old boy had gone.

It took me away, far away, across the big galaxy. It took me to its home. _My_ new home. A world called Xiora; a harsh world of deadlands and deadly forests. I was to be taken there and placed into the savage wilderness. For sport. For their amusement. For their fun.

But first, I had to be…_prepared._ A normal, boring old human wouldn't last a day. So they opened me up and made me better. But what they did physically didn't hold a candle to what they did mentally. They try to condition you for the wild. They show you a thousand nightmares and fears and anxieties. They show you everything bad it the galaxy; the Force screamed in pain. So I did the only thing I could do to keep my sanity and keep the impossible weight and pain from overwhelming me completely. I took my connection to the Force, what little there was, and severed it. No more Force.

And then they dropped me into the wild; ten years old and so completely, undeniably, alone. By all accounts I shouldn't have lasted a day. But a higher power, or the Force, or sheer luck and coincidence had decided otherwise for me. I found water; I found food. Skills Anakin and Padme insisted I learned proved invaluable in setting up. But then there was the predators. Some were big and deadly in the traditional sense. Then there were smaller ones, twice as deadly. No animal or insect could be trusted in the forest. Some were as big as freighter ships with six legs and purple skin. Some were the size of a fingernail and a bloody shade of red. Everything that could move could kill. But again, something kept me alive. I always managed to escape alive; if not unscratched. Most nights fear and terror saw me to sleep with while the Force was denied to me, the seductive, insistent dark side was a constant companion, whispering, murmuring, black tendrils creeping across my soul.

I should've died. Could've. Would have, if it hadn't been for the voice in the night, the little ray of light in the dark forests. One day, the whispering began speaking not of the dark but of the light. Eventually, the whispers became stronger and stronger, as the spirit giving them sound grew as well. Eventually, he appeared. A Jedi who had died long ago and yet remained on the living world.

Qui-Gon Jinn.

He drove the darkness back and showed me how to rise above it. He taught me how to feel the Force again. How to survive. How to live in the deadland and flourish. How to fight back.

And then he was gone again, like a breeze in the wind. I was alone again, but now I had the Force and the fire to win. To escape.

Three years after being dropped into hell, the time had come to escape, heralded by a girl. Shira Brie was another unlucky soul taken by the tsarik for their games. I found her in the desert, near-death and alone. And as she recovered, we waited, and we planned. The tsarik came down to the planet on battered shuttles, and we hoped to steal one and affect an escape from the nightmare world.

Shira didn't make it to the shuttle.

_What happened then?_

I got lucky; pure coincidence had brought me into the path of the Aing-Tii monks. They took me in, nurtured me back to health. And they even taught me about their view of the Force. They didn't believe in light and dark, but a rainbow of colours. I realised that there was more to the Force than what the Jedi taught; and I knew that, for the time being, I wasn't to go back to the Jedi. I wasn't ready. So when the time came to leave, I began to travel the galaxy, seeking out old places of learning and the Force and began my studies. I learned from the Fallanassi, the Zeison Sha, the Theran Listeners and many more besides. I got into trouble, saved the day. Over time, I developed into something more, a figure of urban myth and legend. I couldn't go back to the Jedi, not yet. I wasn't ready.

There was the Yuuzhan Vong; a race from beyong the galaxy, who abhorred all technology. I stopped their invasion plans when I came across one of their agents – Nom Anor- and helped one of their Shamed Ones, Vua Rapuung reveal the truth about their religion and then helped them settle on Zonama Sekot – a living planet that had been birthed from their own homeworld.

I fell into trouble with Han and Chewie; the two got into debt with Jabba the Hutt and I had a death mark after sabotaging one of his extortion rackets. Naturally, we fell in together for a time, and never quite went our separate ways, at least not entirely. We would keep meeting up, finding some devilish new trouble to embroil ourselves in.

There was Sinkhole Station; a call from the Force drew us there to discover the Mind Walkers, unknowing sentinels to the monster of the Maw; a being called Abeloth, a creature that wished for the universe to bow down in love and worship of her. We stopped her…just.

Exar Kun, a long dead dark-sider whose spirit remained in the Massassi halls of Yavin IV, had made a similar call across the galaxy. I ended up simply collapsing the temple on top of him.

The most recent "super-threat" as Han had taken to referring to them as were the Domain. A race of synthetic humanoids – basically a droid race made up of a sapient higher class and several non-sentient lower ones –orginating from somewhere in the Unknown Regions, although their creator race had driven them from their homeworld and forced them to live in a migrant fleet; they hoped to emerge into the greater galaxy and upgrade it to their specifications. Their entire battle class went up in flames. I should really check to see if they've rebuilt…

And all the while, I was breaking up slave rackets, taking down militias and bringing criminals to justice. I became an honest-to-Force vigiliante.

I became the Darkslayer.

* * *

TRAINING ROOM, JEDI TEMPLE, CORUSCANT

The evening, Luke reflected, had gone surprisingly smooth. The family had accepted his explanations without question, the Jedi also. The Jedi had also said that he along with Han and Chewie were welcome guests for as long as necessary. They had even accepted his warning of the Sith returning and an ancient evil. They were in the process of making preparations, intending to search worlds with ties to the Sith for clues and chasing up leads for finding out about the other threat. Luke wondered if he had anyone to ask for clues. Nothing came to mind, and Luke simply opted to slip deeper into his meditation. Stress was beginning to build up and while meditation didn't particularly help, it was better than nothing.

And so he sat cross-legged in one of the temple's many training rooms; Luke had taken most of his armour and was dressed in something that vaguely resembled a pair of black Jedi robes. He would go back to his ship in the morning and retrieve clothing that wasn't designed to accommodate body armour.

Luke sunk deeper into his meditation, feeling the Force flow and ebb around him. He sank deeper into its currents, drinking in everything it allowed him to see, to perceive. He could feel the planet rotating under him, spinning in a galaxy of stars, he could feel the life forces of all the organisms on the planet, tied together in a web of invisible strings. _The Force is everything, and everything is the Force_. While the being who had told him of that belief had been steeped in the dark side, he felt there was a kernel of truth in that somewhere, although obviously not the way the Potentium intended.

Dimly, he felt the presence of another approaching. He pulled himself out of the current enough to turn his attention to the source of the spark. A Jedi of course. Ahsoka's apprentice. Did he know her name? Probably not. He pulled away from the Force entirely and turned his full attention to the newcomer. Luke hadn't had a good chance to see her on the rooftop the day before, but now he could drink in her appearance. The flowing, shimmering red hair; the jade green irises which held a light of determination and passion, although there was something else in those eyes, something deeper he couldn't identify. Luke could tell held the figure of a lithe dancer too, hidden in the folds of baggy robes. She was easily one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen.

She stood there, uncertainly, obviously wondering how best to proceed, what to say. Luke decided to take the first step and stood up. He walked over to where the girl was, and extended his hand with a warm and welcoming smile. "I'm Luke."

"I know who you are." She said, with an almost-bite. She seemed to catch herself. "I'm Mara. Mara Jade."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mara." Luke said, still smiling. Mara made no move to take the hand, so he lowered it slowly. "What can I do for you?"

"Nothing. I was sent to check up on you." Mara replied quickly. Too quickly.

"No you weren't." Luke said pointedly.

"I-," Mara began to retort. She deflated. "Alright, I was curious."

"About?" Luke asked with interest.

"You." She grated, obviously uncomfortable.

"Me?" Luke cocked an eyebrow. "Why? I'm just a boring old wanderer. Nothing interesting."

"You've spent years travelling the galaxy learning about the Force and having adventures. How is that _not _interesting?" Mara asked incredulously. Luke noted she made no mention of his kidnapping or subsequent escape. Either she didn't know the details, or hoped to focus on what amounted to positives with Luke.

"Because it really isn't." Luke said sagely, with the air of somehow far older and wiser than his years. "Travelling, wandering, yeah it's fun to start with, but eventually everything just catches up with you and makes you tired."

"I'm sorry." Mara said quietly. "I didn't know."

"It's alright." Luke shrugged. "You don't understand how brilliant a normal life is until you're on the other end of the sarlacc pit."

"I wouldn't really call my life normal." Mara hedged.

"Maybe not. Stable, though. I haven't had a real home for close to ten years." Luke chuckled. "Unless you count my ship. It's got a bed and refresher, but it's not something to live out of."

Mara nodded in understanding and the two fell into an awkward silence. Luke decided to try another avenue of discussion. "Any particular reason why you charged me on the rooftop?"

Mara blushed, almost the colour of her hair. "Heh. I don't know what came over me then. I was over-eager."

"Perhaps." Luke agreed amicably. He wouldn't say it, but the impression he had gotten through the Force hadn't been one of eagerness to bring him to justice. More closer to say, murderous intent. She had wanted to kill him.

"So are you staying with the Jedi now?" Mara asked quickly, hoping for a change in subject.

"For the time being."

Another silence. "You were raised on Tatooine weren't you?"

"More or less." Luke replied. "Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru tried their best, but something was always going to go wrong with trying to protect a Jedi kid who was the son of a master and a politician."

"So…you're a farmboy then?" Mara asked teasingly, with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"In a manner of speaking. Bit rusty though. Haven't seen a vaporator in years." Luke laughed easily.

"I'm sure we could arrange for you to get shipped to a moisture farm, _farmboy_." Mara giggled. Strange, she didn't strike Luke as the giggling type.

"Well, you'll have to come with me, _Red_." Luke retorted cheerfully, emphasising "red" the same way Mara had empahsised "farmboy". "Some hard work might do you good, get you out of the temple."

That turned out to be the completely and easily worst possible thing to say, given her next reaction. Her nostrils flared and her green eyes narrowed and a spike of anger slashed through the Force. "Listen, _Farmboy_-," Where before it had been a jibe of endearment, it was now an insult, - "I work hard, dammit. I'm the best of my group in the Order. Don't come in here with a few fancy tricks and think you're better than everyone else."

Luke raised his hands in a placating gesture. "I'm sorry."

Mara blinked, then blushed again. "I-I don't know what came over me."

"It's fine." Luke promised. "It must be hard, having to live up to everyone's expectations."

It felt odd to be saying that, considering he was both the son of a power Jedi master and a former Senator. By all accounts all the expectations would be on him. But now, ten years without and contact had left everyone unsure of what to expect from him. The thought was pleasantly freeing.

"You have no idea." Mara said quietly. She began to breath in and out in rhythm and her frustration faded from the Force. "Sometimes I just wish I could be alone without… someone being able to find me in the Force."

"How did you do that?" Luke asked.

"Do what?" Mara asked baffled.

"You, like, calmed yourself down." While Luke could draw on the Force for comfort and strength, without meditation he could never seem to wash away frustration or anxiety.

"It's a calming technique. How can you not know that? It's basic…"

"My training was a bit…all over the place." Luke admitted sheepishly, suddenly embarrassed. He could flow-walk, conjure fire and absorb electricity, but this simple calming trick eluded him. A thought occurred to him. "How about a deal?"

"A deal." Mara repeated.

"Teach me that calming trick and I'll show you how to be alone." Luke offered.

"What, like hide my Force-presence?"

"More or less."

"Seems a bit one-sided. You can get calming exercises from a holobook." Mara pointed out.

"Well, maybe I'd rather learn from you." Luke said slyly.

Mara laughed. "And it's not dark side or anything?"

"Nope. Completely begign."

Mara considered. Luke briefly wondered why she was so keen to be alone. The Jedi couldn't be pushing her that hard.

"Okay. Deal." Mara agreed.

Luke smiled. "Great. Where to we begin?"

Mara considered. "Come over...here." She decided before making her way onto the training room floor and sat down, cross-legged. She patted the space in front of her and Luke sat down opposite, similarly cross-legged.

"It's basically a breathing exercise." Mara explained, "The actual name for it is the _ox'trep_ technique, which means "still mind" in old Tython."

"Close your eyes." She commanded.

"Do I get a surprise?" Luke smirked, but did as he was told.

"Only if there's dinner first." Mara laughed, "Now, try to clear your mind of all distractions, and breathe in and out slowly, and try to get a rhythm going. Focus on your breathing and forget everything else, and everything else should just flutter away."

Luke did as he was told. Slowly he began to breathe in and out. In. Out. In. Out. And sure enough, he could begin to feel the stress beginning to ease away. "Wow. That really works."

"You have a good teacher." Mara snorted.

Luke opened his eyes and grinned. "It seems I do." He raised a questioning eyebrow. "Do you want to learn how to hide yourself now, or leave it? It's kinda late."

"Chickening out?" Mara glared. "You promised."

Luke deflated under the eyes. "I know, and I'm not. It's just tricky to learn when sleep-deprieved."

"I'll be fine, farmboy."

"Alright, Red." Luke snorted. "The one that taught this to be called the ability the _Art of the Small_. Basically, you narrow your Force-presence down and down and down until it's too small to detect. That was you can still access the Force but others can't see you with it to a degree."

"Sounds good." Mara smiled.

"It is." Luke grinned. "Basically, how you do it is…"

* * *

In the other side of the Temple, Grand Master Yoda smiled. He didn't know how, he didn't know why, but somewhere, somehow, the dark future he had been sensing for so long suddenly seemed a little brighter. It wasn't much, it wasn't definitive, but someone had just let a little light into their life and it was having an effect on events to come in the best possible way.

* * *

Across the galaxy, Darth Sideous scowled. There was something wrong. The future he had predicted and put into motion suddenly seemed a lot less certain, a lot less stable. He couldn't isolate the source but he couldn't help but feel that his Hand was at the heart of it.

* * *

_**A/N: **__Bit short, but oh well. It got the point across. Now, I need a name for Luke's ship. Something cool and witty, preferably meaningful. As always, read, review and give ideas and constructive criticism in the reviews. Peace out._


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